Breast cancer incidence in women has increased from one in 20 in 1960 to one in seven today. Every two minutes a woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2005, it was estimated that about 212,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer would be diagnosed, along with 58,000 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer, and 40,000 women were expected to die from this disease. The exact cause of breast cancer is not known, however changes in certain genes make women more susceptible to breast cancer.
Individuals with mutations in the breast cancer gene 1 (BRCA1) and gene 2 (BRCA2), for example, are predisposed to breast and ovarian cancers and run a high risk of having the disease. BRCA1 participates in several cellular processes, but its function in suppressing carcinogenesis of ovarian hormone-sensitive tissues remains unclear. Historically, estrogen and the estrogen receptor and their function in breast cancer have attracted considerable attention. However, the underlying mechanisms of cancer are not fully understood.
The current therapies for breast cancer include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery to remove a woman's ovaries to decrease production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, surgery to remove the tumors, and combinations thereof. What is needed are novel ways of studying, understanding, treating, and above all, preventing breast and other cancers.